Long after we are seated several parties arrive, consisting of black-suited men with power ties and pocket squares, and one or two conservatively dressed women in a high state of polish. The largest of these parties vanish upstairs, to the private dining rooms.

"Among the great restaurants nowadays there are Robuchon and Taillevent; perhaps Senderens at Lucas Carton. What is also very important is the quality of the clients. At Taillevent the clientele is extraordinary. Everyone who counts, I would say, in business at a very high level, goes to Taillevent for lunch, because they feel comfortable there."

- François Cochet, quoted in A Meal Observed, p. 119